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Georgia Tech uses same strategy as out-of-state schools to land recruit

With Trent Sellers, Georgia Tech employed the same effective strategy that out-of-state schools often use to raid Georgia talent.

Sellers is a two-star defensive end from Sandy Creek High School who recently committed to Georgia Tech.

Not many recruiting analysts or college scouts knew about Sellers because he’s raw and undeveloped, he’s still growing into his 6-foot-4, 230-pound frame, he wasn’t on the camp circuit, and he was only a part-time starter at Sandy Creek last year.

Auburn legacy Trent Sellers

Georgia Tech discovered Sellers through some good, old-fashioned hard work: The Yellow Jackets dispatched coaches to observe Sellers this spring at Sandy Creek’s. They fell in love with Sellers and – trusting their own evaluations and not recruiting rankings or offer sheets – quickly made an offer and accepted his commitment.

“Georgia Tech did their homework and found a kid they liked,” Sandy Creek coach Chip Walker told the AJC. “They weren’t worried about anything else. They liked him, and they wanted him. To me, that’s what good scouting and good recruiting is all about.

“They didn’t need to look at rankings or how other colleges felt about him. In about two years, everybody will be saying ‘Man, that was a great get by Georgia Tech. I honestly feel that way.”

This is the same type of effective recruiting strategy that many out-of-state schools use to raid Georgia talent. Missouri has made it an art form. Last year, Missouri was the only big D1 school to aggressively pursue Bleckley County High School safety Tavon Ross before his senior season. They didn’t care that Ross wasn’t ranked high or didn’t have offers from other big D1 schools. Missouri’s strategy was later rewarded when Ross turned down last-minute offers from UGA, Alabama, Auburn and Miami.

“Georgia Tech came by in the spring, and they liked Trent the first time they saw him,” Walker said. “It kind of all worked out. They liked him, and he liked them. They went ahead and got it done, know what I mean?

“Trent is an extremely, extremely physical football player. He’s got huge motor. He had a great spring for us. He has put on 25 or 30 pounds since last football season. He’s up over 230 pounds and 6-foot-4 or close to it. He has a good frame. He has a lot of ability.
“He was very, very impressive during the spring for us. He was probably the most impressive defensive player we had. He has really worked hard to get where he’s at. I think it’s going to be a great ‘get’ for Georgia Tech, I really do.”

Georgia Tech is the first offer and only offer for Sellers. His father (Lee Sellers) played football at Auburn, and the younger Sellers had gotten some curious looks from Auburn, along with Memphis, Clemson, Florida and Kentucky. But they all wanted to see more of Sellers in the fall.

“This is my take on it: When you sit and watch his film from last season, he weighs 200 or 205 pounds,” Walker said. “The boy has put in a lot of hard work in the offseason. If you come watch him in the spring, he’s like a whole different ballplayer, know what I mean?

“You’ve got to do your homework for kids like this if you’re a college coach. You can’t just sit in your office and watch tape. You’ve got to go out and see kids, and that’s what Georgia Tech did. They came and saw him and loved him and came back and saw him. They were sold on him.”

Sellers, who is one of the youngest members of his class, projects to play defensive end at Georgia Tech. “They will start him off at defensive end, and if he grows, there’s no telling where they will put him,” Walker said. “He has got a lot of growth left in him yet.”

Good Luck to this kid... Recruiting in general is a CRAP shoot.... There are as many 5 star players that never reach the hype or expectations... This kid could very well be a success in college, but it requires skill at the coaching level to evaluate good talent or potential talent. In years past GT had to rely on this coaching skill to find some gems in the rough so to speak... CPJ has never had a good history at this level or recruiting. Hopefully coaches(CPJ) history has changed for the better,,, Time will tell... Go Jackets!

@RuePaulJohnson@GeorgeStein The recruits probably choose, and the blue jerseys look better in a no-pads pic. This is the epitome of being obsessed over minutiae. I've enjoyed the variety of designs we've seen in recent years.

Promise you tech fans this kid is gonna be real good. He has worked his tail off since January. He is exploding on the scene though and i really mean that but he told me he will not flip. Also last yr at sandy creek their defensive scheme required him to hold up the o linemen so the backers can run free trust me he won't be doing that this yr and he will put up good numbers that is going to attract some attention.

Nice to see a good kid get a break based on his potential. With HS kids getting older and older, it is hard sometimes to take a chance on a younger kid who will graduate as a 17-18 year old instead of 19-20, which is where we are headed in this state. Good luck at Tech...

Hopefully Myles Autry and Kenderius Whitehead will be able clear all of the remaining hurdles for enrollment at gt. Otherwise (god forbid) someone might accuse gt of following the steps of the factories.

What hurdle does Whitehead have to clear? I don't call finishing the summer semester to get his Associates Degree a hurdle. What Custus has is a hurdle, what Autry has is a hurdle (not really sure this is a hurdle as the coaches know his status and expect him to be admitted with no issues). Whitehead is in no danger of not being here for fall practice.

You must not know what hurdles there are for Whitehead or Autry seeing that you completely avoided my question. If Whitehead and Autry completing classwork is holier than thou, that says alot for you dawgs.

Good to see Tech coaches getting out and looking for prospects, rather than just checking out the ones everyone already knows about. If he gets more offers later on, it will be interesting to see if he gets seduced away or if he appreciates that Tech wanted him when no one else did.